Week #42.. Fast Forward... How to run your first marathon!!

For those of you who followed this blog when it started, it's obvious that it fizzled out pretty quickly - maintaining it beyond week 13 was a task! The reasons are fairly simple - building my new company has been more than a full time job than raising my kids and as always the one thing that ends up going on the back-burner when there's a time crunch is - running!

Don't know how it looked to you folks, but my blog started looking like an update of excuses of why I couldn't keep up with my training... And yes, there wasn't any training to update the world on anyway! 

But guess what? 

I completed my first full marathon - precisely on the target date.. the very day I turned 42 years and 42 weeks old... exactly! And, I am about to share with you all, my ultimate learnings that can help anyone run their first marathon.. 

1. Tell the world: Once you share your goals, the entire world - including your coach (if you have one) will keep asking you about how you are progressing towards your goal. Sharing your goals is like building a sub-conscious that will keep poking you and reminding you and making you nervous - which will push you to save your face - especially when you get these questions from your circle of friends outside the running circle (who think you are a super-hero)! Every time I met some friends I was faced with this question, and I would go 'Gulp, I better get my act right at least NOW and get started'! I started this blog, flagged it off with a big party on my birthday and all that blah, blah.. You can get creative and start screaming from the top of your roof - or whatever works for you! 

2. Surround yourself with believers: Like with anything else in life, you usually need just one person to tell you that you CAN do it! I was incredibly lucky to have more than one.. Even when others would raise questions on my lack of training - they would tell me to NOT listen to anyone but believe in my head that I CAN DO IT!  

3. Find an amazing pacer: Apart from being someone who believes in you and supports your effort throughout the pre-race weeks, it helps to have a super experienced marathoner who runs sub 3.20 hour marathons. Here is how this will help: when you want to chicken out, like I wanted to a few weeks before race day, and your pacer tells you that he is running only YOUR race - it fills you with tremendous guilt for taking away an amazing runner's chance to run a great race and generally that will make you kick your own ass - like instantly! Now, you do have to depend on luck and your good karma to find such a pacer! I was blessed to find the very best that one can get... Brijesh Gajera...  

Another reason a pacer helps is because when you choose to run with a pacer, your race is actually his / her problem. You use your body but THEIR mind... so it's like passing on your running worries, pace stress and strategy planning to someone else: Everything about your race, including you, is their problem! ;p

4. Train with a non-competitive group: Much of the running space I am connected with is super competitive and for a long time I was just complexed about not being 'good enough'. Then I started training with an amazing bunch of guys - the Ultra Warriors - who made me see that your first marathon is all about crossing the finish line - whatever it takes. You have your whole life to set PBs ('personal best' timing record for those non-runners reading this) and no matter how long you take to complete your first marathon - you are still a finisher! (And oh yes, the less competitive the group, the more awesome the food when they train!)

5. Share your pain and doubts: People understand that you are human if you behave human.. The universe can offer support and a shoulder to cry on if you talk about your pain. It was opening my heart out (and whining) that brought me in touch with people who could help me get the mojo back in my running and find simple solutions to my running problems - be it bras that don't leave you totally chaffed around your rib cage, or finding Endomondo as a replacement for the Garmin that doesn't work. 

6. Check that playlist: Lots out there on whether one should run with music or without it. The last 10 kms become pure joy with a playlist that makes you want to dance - I mean why walk the last 25% when you can dance to the finish? Rock it baby... 

So there, you have all my secrets...

Finally, about my training - I fit in just 2 long distances a few weeks before the run. One 30 km and another 32.5 km - both were run and walk and took over 5 hours each. 

I had no opportunity to cross train, for weight loss, speed train or strengthen for 5 months before the race (3 of my lower discs are herniated) and I barely even ran till a month before race day. Plus one week before the race - I did absolutely NOTHING! In fact I had a migraine the day before the race and I didn't get out of bed the entire day...

Nutrition: I ate a Nutella sandwich and a couple of tiny bananas on the morning of the race day. A sour orange on the race route made me terribly nauseous after which I consumed only water and energy beans throughout the race! For three days before the race I consumed 3-4 litres of fluids everyday! 

Run: My Half Marathon PB (which is more than 2 years old) is 2h 22m but with lack of training and excess weight, my pacer's strategy was that we complete the first half in 3 hours and walk the next half in sub 4 hours. We were on the dot at 6:44 including 3 puke attempt breaks, about 5-6 stretch breaks, and navigating through traffic that had filled the streets. 

Whatever time it took, I got the same finisher medal as the others who ran their full in 3 hours. So there!!! ;p

Bottom line: if I could do this, anyone can!!

See my vote of thanks to my heroes here!

Note: I have run at least a dozen half marathons, two 25K races and innumerable 10Ks since I took up running around 4 years ago... 

Week #12, 13 & 14… and we are baaackkk!

Well if you have been missing my posts the past 3 weeks then I owe you an apology for not keeping it updated and if you haven't been missing my post - it just means that it is high time you start following this mindless but mostly awesome bantering on how to run your first full marathon.

Before I share more about the training - here's something I want to know from all marathon runners - how do you FEEL when someone comes and asks you if you are running the 5 or the 10k Marathon? Most of the time I try to correct the ignorant party by telling them that there is only ONE marathon distance and it is 42.2 but I notice that sometimes it doesn't go down very well. I mean they don't get why their 5K run should NOT be called a marathon and only your 42.2k deserves to be called that! One day, I tell ya…

Anyway, moving forward with the training updates, that was one nasty virus that set me back quite a bit. But like they say, if bugs are tough, runners are tougher (or so I would like to believe!)

The recovery during week #12 was as per Coach's plan - a little bit of strength training alternating with slow run-walk-run. It was really difficult to get the breathing back those early days and I added a couple of 15K cycling routines to give the training some variety.

Week #13 was the announcement of summer in Bangalore. I mean seriously - the city was going berserk and beat the 'hot-like-hell-Chennai' with it's soaring mercury. That is when I headed to the pool with a vengeance - 30 laps swimming one day, followed by an 18k cycle ride and a 3km run on the same day got me a pat on my back from the coach - yes I am still that puppy who loves her treats after a good trick (or workout in this case). This week my long run was 11k that started from my home and ended at Bangalore Club. The original plan was 15k but it was just too hot to continue so I made it up with a 20 laps swim in the pool.

This was the week that I realised that on more than just the odd day I end up missing strength training if my trainer doesn't show up. So I have now come up with what I call is my own ULTIMATE STRENGTH TRAINING module for such days. It goes like this:

Warm up: skipping - 100 skips on both legs, followed by 50 on single leg left and right. Followed by Dynamic stretches

Workout -
30 heel rise for calves
Ankle strengthening - Walk on ball of your feel and your heels - 20 steps each
20 x 2 sets squats
30 sec to 1 min Plank for core
30 sec to 1 min side plank for side core
20 x 2 back kicks for gluteus and lower back
20 x 2 leg curls for hamstrings (lie on belly and flex legs up and down)
2 x 1 min - hip rise - hamstrings a
20 x 2 back-side kicks at 45 degrees for IT band
20 x 2 leg rise for abs
15 x 2 push ups - upper body
15 x 2 lunges - quads, hamstring, gluteus
20 x 2 cruches for abs
Balancing on one leg - 30 sec each leg and then repeat with eyes closed

Cool down stretches.

And oh yes, the last time he missed the class I let him know that I had done my work out anyway! Yeah - take that… 

Week #14.. speed work out - though not quite at the goals coach had set out, followed by strength training and finally my very favourite Nandi Hill run. Thank you Brijesh for getting this organised for me - I had been wanting to do this for weeks and finally I had my chance on Saturday. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I walked most of it uphill after the 3rd Km I think (the Garmin and the iPod conked out just as I started running) but thanks Anoop for the company uphill and downhill and for introducing me to a word that I am going to be tripping on a long time - LSD - long slow distance (I think he might have added 'run' after that). 

I am proud to share that after this run, I headed out for a 18km bike ride to Cubbon Park with a 5k - run walk run the very next day. And look what I found along the way...

Thats me in the shadow!

We are now in the second quarter of the FM training and the goal over the next few weeks will be to build speed with medium mileage and strength training with at least one run of 30+km. Please read Week#4 update to see how the 42 weeks are planned. 

Food wise, I am waiting for mangoes to hit the market. Till then I am freaking out with choco-bars, some energy packed carrot juice, grapes, watermelon, my very favourite mush-melon and my biggest vice - cuppa tea with 2 Parle G biscuits dipped in them - when the temperature is just right. For the record, I am looking for de-addiction remedies on this one - if anyone has any ideas on it.

Thank you Asima for the picture.. and Brijesh for the flag that's going to London with me to cheer the Indian runners!

So, it looks like we are back on track…at least I hope so. Tomorrow I head out for a speed run (that I anticipate will not be quite like what the coach has asked for) and later in the night I am heading out to London with Brijesh's Indian flag to support the Active Holiday Company's group of runners running the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday. Oh yes, the 42.2km one! Not an inch less :)

Week #11 - Wasted…

It's not easy to share a training update when the week has whizzed by with no energy to do anything. I mean I did try - on Thursday gave in to the desire and asked to trainer to stick to the training date. What followed was a workout at 50% capacity and the rest of the day as fatigued and washed out as possible! It's not easy to deal with the situation when the mind is willing but the body is not and hanging in there is all one can do!

I have missed a lot of training and I missed some important events - a movie screening (Spirit of Marathon), the launch run of the Bangalore Marathon - which it seems will coincide with the date of my 42 weeks, a celebration party of dear TimTim, my own longest run of this training so far and more. I have spent this week watching everyone else's, updates and that is just about the only exercise I have had.

I am concerned that the 10 days of whatever I seem to have is going to set me back and that I will have to start training from scratch.

But we must wait it out, we must wait to get strong before we get back to the track, for a wrong move at this time will only lead to a further set back in bouncing back..And like they say, a viral will take as long as it needs to take…

Till then, we will
- Drink a lot of water
- Rest Rest Rest (yes that dirty four letter word)
- Get a blood test done (well I did go to the doc I just didn't want to pop those pills after the first dose set my tummy off!)

So signing on the positive note, though without any pictures this week, that I hope I have something real to report for next week's training!

Remember: Crap happens but we can choose to… Stay POSITIVE, stay inspired and keep running. 

Week #10.. When the mind is ready but the body is not!!

Writing from a bed after being in it for 3 days does not make the most inspiring setting but, report I must!

Let's start with the more positive parts. Finally the scale not moving just got to me. As in not 'got to me' like one writes it, but 'got to me' like it was PINCHING me. A combination of factors led to that - first having to put away a lot of my favourite clothes because they didn't fit me anymore and two going over some pictures just a year old that showed me the difference between what a 7 kilo gain can 'LOOK' like on the body! And so, I went about the weight loss attempt with renewed energy.

Minus 7 kilos - 2012 end

Now remember that I am not one of those who can keep away from eating, I don't just love my food but also can't live without it. So, all I did was as follows:-

1. Changed the portions of my meals and made my main meals smaller
2. Brought back the fruits throughout the day - adding at least 3 and at times 4, smaller snacks (one of them includes nuts) - one being a heavy duty glass of carrot, beetroot and such - fresh juice!
3. Added a bowl of raw salad to my meal - to be eaten before the meal itself
4. Increased my water intake
5. Made no compromises on my chocolates (what's the use of living if you can't eat what you want, right?)

I am pleased to report that the weight loss has kicked in. And it is here to stay!!! :)

On the training bit, on the personal trainers recommendation I bought myself a new exercise bench and promptly  got a nasty bug that has kept me in bed since Thursday evening. A completely energy sapping cough with a body-ache and sniffly nose has led to a small break in training. I hope to be back on my feet really soon - though I may have to miss a day or two more.

But, we did go through training till thursday and this included
Monday - Lower body and upper abs workout
Tuesday - Speed training - 200m, 400m, 600m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m and I am pleased  to report that the post 800 timings were better than pre ones.
Wednesday - Upper body and lower abs
Thursday - Hill training and post that all the trouble started, the rest of the week as they say was history!

A huge congratulations to the Bangalore boys and the crew (that very much included a few gals), who attempted the 100 miles run from Mysore to Bangalore. Kudos to you boys.. Dharmendra Kumar, Kieren D'souze, Udaya Napa and Vishwanathan Jayaraman - I would have so loved being part of the crew, but God wanted me to stay in bed!

Bangalore Ultra Boys - picture stolen from their event page!

As a result, I also missed the very fun Bangalore Unity run today but, I guess here too God wanted me to stay in bed!

Finally, since there was all this noise about woman's day, I would like to end my this week's update by dedicating this post to a woman I met for the first time this week. She is a running friend's wife and I met her when Coach Pani and I went over to her place, for the first time. The purpose of the visit was to pay our condolences for the loss of their 13 year old daughter the previous week. I am amazed at the strength and composure of this ultra woman despite the loss of her beautiful daughter - the one she carried in her arms as a baby and the one who passed away in her arms. Her strength to cope with this tragedy comes from the fact that she has to still be a mother to her older daughter. May no woman's have to prove her strength with such a test - may God bless her and her babies - the one on earth and the one in heaven!

Amen.

    

Week # 9.. 33 more to go!

Almost 25% of the journey is over. What is it about last week that made me feel so fatigued?

Monday - Strength training with trainer but don't forget that it was a day after my 'back on track' 10K at the Pinkathon. Legs and lower body was todays treat.

Tuesday - Training at Kanateerva - Coach had returned from a new training himself and was all charged to experiment balancing on two of us - venky and self. And guess where or rather what, the balancing work out is supposed to work - the G word - gleuteus, the ass, the butt.. you get it. And I could 'feel' my backside for a few days after that..

Wed - trainer core and upper body. He loves crunches, leg raises… like half a dozen variations of them,   planks - variations even there!

As I got on the plane on Wed night, I was secretly thrilled to escape working out. I am having super fun, don't get me wrong. It is just been a sort of exhausting feeling, that's all. And, the time in Mumbai was not spent twiddling my thumb either - even if I wasn't exactly spending all my time at some gym!

Before I got back the Active Holiday Company was appointed sole representative for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Second one of the World Majors. Yeaaa!

Anyway, returned on Saturday evening. And finally I went to the Contours' Women's Day run. I had registered for another 10K and my 12 year old Aprajita for a 5K (Gayatri too had registered for this race but she was sick and so she dropped out, after waking up for the race).

This was the day coach and I had discussed an easy 12K run for, but I am afraid that a small but painful wardrobe 'malfunction' led me to abandoning the 12K plan. This time it was my new pair of shorts that I didn't expect any misbehaviour from.

Culprit Shorts.. oh and mother daughter picture

By the 4th km my inner thighs were chaffed enough to make me consider cutting the distance down to 5K but then I thought about the calories I would burn if I continued to walk a bit more or run a bit more. What did they all say after the race? G, you looked completely focussed. G, you were not in your element. G, you were so quiet.. basically G's thighs were paining - and it was not the good pain…

Runners High Boys - Pic Courtesy  FlashBulbzz

Anyway, glad that I completed the 10K. Before I close this week's update, I gotta mention the incredibly cute all boys dance by Runners High boys post the Contours race! I like it when the boys do this for us gals.. was super fun.. Such a lovely, intimate, fun race.. that was - chicken skin or bruised thighs.. this is one race I sure was happy to have run… Thanks Chandra for organising it for us Bangalore folks!!


   

Week 8.. Like Never Before…

Imagine a week that starts with - The trainer didn't show up first thing on Monday morning!! I am telling you the truth - before my phone could wake me up there was a message: I will do take the make up class on Friday. Then goes a frantic boo-hoo message to coach saying - he didn't turn up.

So it was on coach's advise that my week started off on a different note.

Mon - 7.5 km of slow running on wobbly knees
Tues - 25 laps of swimming - could have done more but just decided to bum about. Was my first swim of the season (and 2014) - not bad..
Wed -  Guess what? Trainer showed up.. leg strengthening followed by lower core
Thu - Back at Kanateerva - the goal was 10 X 1 min (1 min running and 1 min walking). Was the first time I was ever doing this and I felt that I could have gone on a bit longer but why do more than what the coach prescribes (leading cause of injuries!). I think even coach felt that my workout was 'not bad!'
Fri - Make up class from trainer where he explained to me why he is petrified of dogs and sprints as soon as he sees one! Workout was upper body with weights and upper core.
Sat - the day for the four letter word - R-E-S-T!
Sun - Pinkathon!!

My 12 year old at the start line.. thanks FlashBlubzz for the lovely click

Another Flashblubzz picture of my 10 year old. You can see she's having a rollicking time :)

My daughters enrolled for the 3K, my cousin and niece for the 5K and finally I for the 10K. So, my run started first and I was very casual and uncompetitive about it. I ran the first 5 to 6 km comfortably. Almost the whole world was ahead of me but I didn't feel too worried about it. After last week's 9 km in 1.15 mins my expectation was to just continue to do a bit better than last saturday. Somehow after the  6.5 km mark I started to feel that I had a lot left in me and that's when I started to push.

 For the first time in my life I closed at negative splits - my last two kms were the fastest during the entire race. I completed the 10K distance at a 1.08 which was only one min faster than my PB. Oh and I am forgetting another 'first' - my last 200m were at a pace of 5.07!!

Pacemakers team was super. Patrick taking pictures, Coach and I exchanged a hi-five, Brijesh screamed a GG (go gauri), Alifiah, Saroja, Neera the other PM ladies who ran the race, Anand - who paced me the last 200m and Jagmohan who I grabbed to overcome my breathlessness. For the record it is NOT the same with the 3Bs (Bobby, Brojen and Brijesh) but still had some fun exchanging mindless banterings with the buses - Bus TimTim, Bus Vaishali, non-bus Narayani and poor Ash Nath caught between the nonsense exchange. I got to meet so many many virtual friends for the first time - TFC gals, mommies of my kids classmates. Caught up with Sree for the first time after I quit Cosmos.

Anyway it was fun AND my babies, girls running for the girls, did a 23 and 28 mins for their very first 3km. My niece rocked it as did my namesake cousin.

The family gurlzzz - the ones who ran the Pinkathon :)

I gotta say the knees are still wobbly. The other injuries seem to be getting better. And I have a confession to make - the weight is going no-where… that's obvious from those pictures - I don't want to see my own race pictures, for the same reason I don't want to see the scales - they all show the stuff I don't want to see.

Back to another week of training. Part of it would be the Contours Women's Day run! Now that I 'know' I have my legs back, maybe, I will go ahead and just do it as part of my training - do the 10k and add some more distance, treating it as long distance weekend run! Good idea, whaddya say?

Week 7 - It's all in the mind… what's in yours?

Like they would say to everyone at the Golden Temple - Satsriyakaal... what a week dudes...

Started with my own 14th wedding anniversary and then my brothers 17th and my brother-in-law's 20th and add to that Valentines day - you know quite clearly by now - how much cake I have eaten through this week! :)

Oh. yeah - Active Holiday Company has a home

From another perspective it was also the week of getting my new Active Holiday Company office ready - which incidentally is on the first floor (and no lift), so there was a lot of climbing up and down the stairs that I hope that suitably set off the effect of the cake..

I think the training has improved as well - in the sense - it was all on track with as it was supposed to be..

Monday - SURPRISE - trainer showed up and took me through an hour of lower body and core work out. Yes he doesn't waste a minute - that is when he shows up!

Tuesday - Spent the evening with the coach at Kanateerva. Good warm up - for some strange reason, my warm up runs are always the best. One hour - 7.3km + 1.2 km warm up. The good thing about going to run with coach is that he doesn't let me bunk warm up and stretches. I might have said that before but I realised it more this week as all my other runs were on my own.

Wednesday - Bootcampish work out with the trainer - upper body and core work out

Thursday - Warn up of 1.2 km and then 2 kms of hill run - all in all a less than 30 mins work out but then the 42 started showing up in the form of a niggle in the left knee. Decided to not do anything after that.

Friday - spent nursing the dodgy  knee

Saturday - finally fed up after a rest day that was not supposed  to be a rest day I decided to go out

cycling - low impact and good cross training 11km in 37 mins. I wish my Garmin looked like this when I am running... well, some day maybe - like I keep saying - my aim is to qualify for Boston when I turn 80! This was the day I spent at the Pink Carnival with my 10 year old brat - Gayatri's very first Zumba!!

Thank you FlashBlubZz for capturing my Zumba Baby!!

Sunday - The Pinkathon got postponed by a week thanks to RaGa who didn't do much in the city either (except for inagurating some six month old highway), but anyway I slept in and lazily tried to keep postponing the long run. Finally, the sun had set and the week was almost over. The worst part was that I had downed two wines and more than just a piece of cake today.. so I started chasing my 11km run... I quit running at 9km but topped it with a 3.2 km walk to compensate for not running for 11 km. Now, I know that the base is pretty low to be even reporting this and it is nothing like the 9km that I have done in less than 60 mins, but I have to add that last Sunday I was at a 9.5km in 90 mins and this week I finished a 9 km in 75 mins. AND I had my fastest 1km (in a warm up session obviously) at a 7.13 pace. So, I closed the week almost guilt free.

The injuries - I dare say - are feeling a little better: I have had to use the stick a bit less - I mean to get myself to do what I am supposed to do! ;-)

This week I thought a lot about thoughts. Ramdom thoughts, good thoughts, evil thoughts, past thoughts, future thoughts and thoughts that others may have while running. Almost each time I am out running, after some point of going over the debate - why am I doing this (usually unanswered in the mind but somehow 'I get it' towards the end as it becomes a secondary thought!), I find my mind drawn a lot towards what I would like to write about in my next book, about people who have said things that I find totally inspiring and worth capturing. This is how it was even when I wrote Wise Enough to be Foolish - even though I had written this (my first book) in 4 days, I had rewritten and edited it for almost an entire year - while running. I would have a thought while running and somehow it would find itself in the book. I experience such a creative burst while running that I almost regret that one can't write and run at the same time. Now, that's a pain point someone can address - invent that thing that allows you to run and write at the same time! ;-)

Anyway, going back to the thoughts, I am thinking what others think about when they are running. I agree when they say that about breaking barriers: it's all in the mind. But the mind of a runner has very few barriers.. so if you are a runner and if you have a mind, leave me a note today and share with the world - what goes on in your mind when you are running...

Just do it.. :)